Fellow: Karen Trivette

Karen Trivette, PhD, recruiter of Archival Science Faculty and Students at Alma Mater Europaea University-European Center Maribor, Slovenia, will be inducted as a Fellow of the Society of American Archivists (SAA) during an awards ceremony at the Annual Meeting of SAA in Anaheim, CA. The distinction of Fellow is the highest honor bestowed on individuals by SAA and is awarded for outstanding contributions to the archives profession.

Trivette, who has been a practicing archivist for more than twenty-four years, has worked at a variety of institutions, including the State University of New York (SUNY), University at Albany, and the State Archives of New York. Trivette retired as head of special collections and college archives at the Fashion Institute of Technology-SUNY’s Gladys Marcus Library in 2024 before assisting Professor Dr. Peter Pavel Klasinc to develop the English-language Master of Science in Archival Science and Document Studies program at Alma Mater Europaea University. Working experiences with artist Jenny Holzer and art museums further diversify Trivette’s extensive career.

Trivette has played an instrumental role in mentoring hundreds of aspiring archivists, lifting her colleagues with compassion and empowering them to reach new heights. During the pandemic, she stepped up to create connections and build an inclusive community through innovative SAA College and University Archives Section "Coffee Chats" and enriching educational webinars. Her dedication to teaching is profound, leading a multitude of workshops and forging a vibrant online presence for the International Archival Affairs Section (IAAS) as senior co-chair (2024–2025). As IAAS junior co-chair (2023–2024), Trivette created Archival Vistas Briefings, a video series that discusses topics or themes of archives internationally. This year's focus is on standards, one of her areas of expertise. The Archival Landscapes seminar series began in 2020 and centers on geographies of the world and archival practice in various countries. Under Trivette's leadership, these continue to excel by offering rare, globally-focused content and by welcoming into the "SAA fold" people who are not yet members of SAA.

Additional impactful service to SAA was Trivette's four-year term on the American Archivist Editorial Board, working on critical areas such as improving operations and the board's peer review process. She also guest-edited a special section on design records for the fall/winter 2021 issue. Trivette attended and presented at SAA Annual Meetings over many years and, in 2018, chaired and moderated a conference session entitled, “Building Bridges: The Co-Education of Archivists and Architects on Major Renovation Projects.”

While serving on various leadership positions for SAA, Trivette was also president of the Archivists Round Table of Metropolitan New York, Inc.; a board member of the New York Archives Conference; and chair and board co-liaison of the AtoM (Access to Memory) 3 Roadmap Committee.

Perhaps Trivette’s most remarkable legacy lies in her groundbreaking podcast An Archivist's Tale, a powerful compilation of narratives from 120 archivists worldwide. This series, also founded and sustained by SAA Fellow, Geof Huth, represents her extraordinary ability to ignite passion and build community, standing as an indispensable oral history for our profession. The podcast documents archival progress over generations of practitioners and highlights the work being done to create a more inclusive field.

Speaking about Trivette’s approach to her work, one supporter noted that she “is not merely a practitioner; she embodies and lives out the core values of SAA, leaving an indelible mark on the profession that will resonate for generations to come.” Another supporter remarked, “Ms. Trivette shows great initiative in directing individuals to solve their research problems, utilizing and sharing her rich, diverse theoretical and practical knowledge of archival theory and practice. Her dedication to the archival profession shows through her positive influences on fellow doctoral students when she encourages them to continue pursuing their doctoral studies, especially when they have reached a ‘research crisis.’”